Collateral damage to the Andhra Pradesh government continued further with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) naming a senior minister and two senior IAS officers as accused in the alleged irregularities pertaining to the Vanpic port project on Monday.
The CBI for the last one year has been pursuing the awarding of the port's concession agreement and subsequent changes made in it -- one of the high-profile government decisions -- to establish the alleged quid pro quo benefits involving Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In a separate chargesheet filed on the Vanpic project before the CBI special court, the investigative agency has included roads and buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao as accused No. 5. His alleged involvement in the Vanpic case pertains to his previous role as revenue minister in charge of land matters in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy's government.
Rao is one of the prominent faces of the ruling Congress party from the north coastal region and his naming is likely to make matters difficult for the government, which is already facing criticism for alleged inaction against its ministers involved in various cases.
The minister, however, said he would respond appropriately after going through the contents of the chargesheet. He flew to Delhi apparently to explain his position to the party high-command in the wake of the CBI chargesheet.
IAS officials
In a further blow to the state administration, the CBI has named M Samuel, special chief secretary, environment and forest department, and Dr Manmohan Singh, principal secretary, animal husbandry and housing departments, in the order of 7 and 8 among the list of the 14 accused in this case.
The CBI has named the two senior bureaucrats in the fresh chargesheet for their alleged role and involvement in the process of land allotment to the port project. Singh earlier headed the infrastructure and investment department as principal secretary while Samuel was principal secretary in the revenue department dealing with the allotment of land to the port project.
Earlier arrests
It may be recalled that Mopidevi Venkataramana, a Cabinet minister in the Kiran Kumar Reddy's government, is in judicial remand for the deviations he allowed in the project when he was holding the portfolio of infrastructure and investment in the YSR government. He had to resign from the Cabinet after he was arrested by the CBI on May 24.
On May 15, the CBI had arrested Nimmagadda Prasad, whose company - Matrix Enport Holding Private Limited- is the Indian partner of the project. Prasad is a prominent businessman and founder of Matrix Laboratories. KV Brahmananda Reddy, an Indian Railways Service officer who worked on deputation as special secretary in the infrastructure and investment, was also arrested along with him.
Prasad is one of the 73 accused figured in the FIR (first information report) registered against Jagan while the new names cropped up during the course of investigation.
According to the CBI, Prasad had invested about Rs 854 crore in the companies belonging to the Kadapa MP as a quid pro quo for the benefits received from the government headed by the latter's father and former chief minister YSR.
The alleged benefits are related to the proposed development of Vanpic, an integrated port and industrial corridor project spanning across the two coastal districts of Guntur and Prakasam involving two ports and a large extent of land.
The AP government had signed an MoU with the government of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in March 2008 for the development of the Vanpic project on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis while Matrix Enport had joined the project as an Indian partner with a 49 per cent equity.
The CBI had pointed out several deviations in the concession agreement and subsequent decisions pertaining to the project, including dilution of the stake of the project developer to a third party in violation of the MoU.
It has so far filed four chargesheets in Jagan case, including the one on Monday.
In the fresh chargesheet, the CBI has also named Nimmagadda Prakash, brother of Nimmagadda Prasad, as one of the accused. Jagan and his associate Vijaya Sai Reddy continue to be accused No.1 and 2 respectively.
Others include Vanpic Projects Private Limited, Jagati Publications Private Limited, Raghuram Cement Corp-oration Private Limited, Bharathi Cement Corporation Private Limited, Carmel Asia Holdings Private Limited and Silicon Builders Private Limited.
The charges have been filed under sections of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, falsification of accounts of the IPC and under sections of criminal misconduct among others of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
